Monday, April 13, 2015

Meditations as We Move

Since arriving here in Brazil, Felipe and I have been busy working to sort out all the details concerning our big move to São Paulo.

Our Plan A for moving, which we have had for forever, ended up not working out, so we made the decision to change to Plan B. Yay for Plan B! I like Plan B's!

The decision to change our plans took us a while to make due to various factors, but the end result is still the same. We are moving soon to São Paulo!

Our storage room. Our things have been packed up here since the end of October.

In the midst of all the changes, the unknown, and the waiting to see if Plan A would possibly pan out, this travel-weary mama was feeling done, impatient, pushed past my limits, and oh so utterly tired. The longing for consistency, routine, and a place for our family to call home was growing stronger than ever.

We have been in transition now for 5 months, moving from place to place, so we are super ready to stop living out of suitcases and plant ourselves in one place so we can flourish and grow as a family.

One day recently, while we were still in the throes of figuring out how and when we would tackle moving, I was crying out to the Lord in my weariness. I was afraid our move could be delayed for another month or so.

As I began to pray, Jesus’ prayer instantly came to my mind, “Not my will, but Your will be done.”

And I knew God wanted me to surrender.

Surrender my will,

my rights,

my way,

my desires,

my life,

my days,

my wanting to move sooner rather than later.

God was calling me to surrender to His perfect timing, and to ultimately trust in Him.

He also gently reminded me of this simple truth:

Every day is a gift from Him.

EVERY.

SINGLE.

DAY.

Where ever I am in the world, whether I am traveling around, living in temporary housing, or in my own home, today is a gift God has given me.

Today is the day that the Lord has made!

Today is an opportunity to surrender my life, and live for His honor and glory.

He is just asking me to be available and willing right where I am at, and to surrender to Him along this journey, which is always full of adventures.

In this “in between” time, my honest daily prayer is,

“I surrender today to You, whatever may come. Thank you for today, a wonderful gift from You. Your will be done. Your kingdom come, today. Have your way in my today …”

As I have been purposely surrendering my "todays" to the Lord, He is showing up. I already have a few stories of things God has been up to since our arrival in Brazil, and I am so thankful for His sovereign hand over our days, our times, our lives. Each day truly is a gift!

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.James 1:7

I am thankful for these great reminders, and I pray for sweet grace to live them out until the day we move, during our move, and as we adapt to a new life in a new city.